This invention relates to the removal of portions of thread from a length of thread which is attached to a web of sheet material to extend along the length of the web. It is particularly concerned, although not necessarily exclusively so, with such a process as one stage in the production of infusion packets to which tags are attached by a thread.
The use of such tagged packets is well known. European Patent Application EP 448325A, describes a process for producing the packets during which a series of spaced tags are attached to a length of thread and the thread and tags are attached to a web along its length. The procedure by which the tags and thread are assembled with the web is described in more detail in U.S. Pat. No. 5,527,419 to which reference can be made for further details.
What is particularly significant in that assembly procedure in the present context is that it results in a continuous length of thread extending along the web in which only those portions that connect the tags to the web serve a useful purpose. The remaining portions can complicate subsequent stages in the process of producing the packets and can present an awkward appearance in the finished product.